Eric's Journey
by topher girl0102
Summary: Post season 7. The story revolves around Eric's time away from Point Place and how this changes Donna's life as well. Lot's of E/D I am a big time E/D shipper but also quite a lot of E / OC and some D/OC. Can they stay true to their love despite all odds? Jackie features prominently in my story so, J/H play a role as well.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Babe, I'm leaving

September 2nd 1979

3 am

Newark International airport

United Airlines Flight 109 to London Heathrow boarding at Gate 2 ….Flight 109 to London Heathrow boarding at Gate 2…..,

It was the early hours of the morning and most of the people waiting were either hunched up in their seats trying to catch a short nap or walking around with Styrofoam cups of coffee in hand, trying to stay awake.

Eric Forman was seated in a bay of seats by the windows that gave him a view of the departing jets. His eyes however did not seem to really be focussing on the metal birds visible through the huge sheets of glass. His mind had been replaying the past few days in a constant loop, repeatedly coming back to those last minutes with Donna.

He had wanted to get off at Kenosha and take one of those airport shuttle buses, so Donna would only have the short drive back home alone in the Cruiser. But she had insisted on him driving straight to the General Mitchell airport, Milwaukee, where his flight to New Jersey awaited him, adding that she would enjoy the long drive back home – he knew she meant that she would rather be doing that than be alone at home the rest of the evening with that strange and new feeling that he wasn't there next door.

Their lips had clung together again and again at the check-in area beyond which only passengers could proceed. It had taken a gentle but firm push from her in the end to get him to stop leaning into her for yet another final kiss. And it was Donna who first walked slowly away with a final glance back and a wave, along with the hint of a playful smile that was belied by the tears shimmering in her eyes.

The expression on her face after that last kiss….he had seen her look at him that way so many times & yet each time it had the same incredible effect on him …..it was the look she had given him when her parents had renewed their wedding vows, the vows she had written for them….it was the same look she had given him when she saw him running to her on a beach in California…..the look he could almost see when he climbed through the window of her room to tell her he was back and would do whatever she wanted him to do….

As he walked toward boarding gate 2 where the long haul flight to London awaited him, he didn't even try to figure out the various conflicting feelings sweeping over him…..a faint sense of apprehension toward the unknown that awaited him was the primary one though …

'_So long America – see you in a year's time'_

8 am

Point Place, Wisconsin

The faint sounds of her dad humming as he went about the house doing his usual morning chores was what got Donna awake that morning, as it had too many mornings in the past.

This morning, however, she didn't turn on to her back and look up at the ceiling with a small smile as she did many Saturday mornings, savouring the lingering effects of Friday night.

This Saturday morning, she remained lying on her stomach with her face buried in her pillow. He was really gone. …..

Her dad must have gone downstairs, because all she could hear now was the deafening silence around her as she focused on that one thought.

After all the times she tried leaving Point Place and found she couldn't…..the time she went to California only to come back with a smile on her face that didn't go away until the day Red found out about their 'secret' engagement….the time she boarded the bus to Madison only to get off again the next minute to run back to the only place that always felt like home, Eric's tight 'Now I'm never going to let you go' embrace …..after all those 'almosts' , it was in the end Eric who had left …..

Don't call it 'the end', she told herself, echoing in her thoughts something along the lines of what Eric had said to her in those weeks that she had been angry about his Africa decision.

'_This is the first step towards our lives together as adults….'_

Those words had made a lot more sense when he was standing in front of her and she could see, hear and touch him. But with him gone, the only person she could hear at the moment was her inner voice.

_And yet this can't have been the only way or even the easiest way to make college affordable within a year's time …?_

She turned her face into her pillow with a sigh….they either trusted each other or they didn't….they either believed in each other or chose not to and called it quits…she didn't believe in a middle ground and up until now the choice had always been a simple one to make …

'Donna' a gentle knock at the door was followed by her dad walking in with a steaming plate of fried eggs and toast in one hand and a glass of juice in the other.

'I thought you might want to lie in a while today morning. It was quite late last night when you made it back from the airport, sweetie.' His always jolly smile was gentler than usual.

'Thanks dad' She managed a wan smile but he noticed that his baby's blue eyes didn't shine today, the last time they had looked that way was the morning her mother had left, the first time.

'Oh and Jackie called a few minutes to find out if you were awake yet. She's on her way over, honey'. He turned at the door and added in an even softer voice 'Eric called just a few minutes after you came home last night. Just a quick call from the airport to make sure you were back home.'

The door closed quietly behind him – everything seemed softer and quieter this morning, or did it just seem that way to her.

She savoured some of the eggs her dad had expertly cooked, sitting up in bed.

What was Jackie doing back in Point Place so soon?

She hoped that Hyde's proposal had gone off okay the previous day in Chicago.

Her mind took only a few seconds to drift back to Eric again …..the expression on his face those last few seconds before she walked away…..it was the same way he had looked at her on their prom night when they were on the dance floor, that same expression he had at her parents vow renewal ceremony when she had looked over at him and been unable to turn away from his green eyes…that same half smile that had been on his face when he had told her that she meant everything to him, that night at the water tower…

The last few days had felt so rushed. Eric had got a checklist of things to do from the NGO which was organising the programme. She had helped as much as she could and she only hoped they hadn't forgotten anything important.

He had walked into her room a couple of days ago to see her writing in a small pocket size bound notebook.

'Hey, Is that a new Captain's log?'

She smiled 'It's nothing really. I just feel like there's so much I want to say to you before you leave but I don't think we'll have the time….so you can take this with you when you leave.'

He sat down next to her on the bed. 'Donna, I'm sorry I've been running around all morning today. Let's go for a drive now and talk …..'

'It's okay Eric….the guys want to take you out today evening. 'She pursed her lips to hide a grin 'something about it being the last chance to get you drunk and in a dress again'

'I'll give this to you at the airport to take with you' she kept the notebook under her pillow.

She didn't think he would remember and at the airport she almost forgot to give it to him, but he asked for it, and after taking it from her, he took a roll of neatly pinned together papers from his jacket and pressed it in her hand.

'I wrote some stuff down too for you to read later'

She kept the remains of her breakfast aside and took the pages now from her bedside table.

On the first page, he had started with 'Donna, please hit the play button on your cassette player.'

Her dad had got her a cassette player for her birthday a few months ago. She leaned over and hit Play half expecting to hear the Zeppelin track she had been listening to the last time.

'_Babe, I'm leaving…. I must be on my way….the time is drawing near…,'_

'_My train is going…I see it in your eyes….the love, the need …your tears….'_

Her lips curved in a half smile. It was the brand new hit song by Styx 'Babe'.

'_But I'll be lonely without you….And I'll need your love to see me through….'_

She looked at the sheet she was holding onto again.

'Sorry Donna, but Zeppelin just couldn't say it my way. This is exactly what I would have said to you before leaving but honestly I was scared I might start tearing up …..then the guys would have made me wear that dress all the way to Africa ….Promise me that you'll smile every time you hear this song on the radio…..'

Styx was still crooning away as she slowly lay back on her bed.

'_So please believe me, my heart is in your hands …and I'll be missing you.'_

She never thought the day would come, but she was actually loving Styx right now.

'_Babe. I love you….'_

'Eric, you dillhole, come back soon' She muttered to the empty room.

'_Babe, I'm leaving, I'll say it once again, somehow try to smile…..I know the feeling we're trying to forget, if only for a while…..'_

She pulled a big white pillow into her arms and buried her face in it.

10 hours later

Heathrow International airport, London

Eric made his way over to a bunch of people, a few of whom were conspicuously wearing British Red Cross T-shirts. One of them, a woman in her thirties with red hair that reminded him instantly of Donna ticked his name off on a list she was carrying and introduced herself.

'I'm Celia' she said in a jovial voice 'I've been with the British Red Cross for years now in various roles and I'm on the committee organising all of this year's University sponsored relief programmes.'

It was already afternoon in the UK, Eric had lost 5 hours in his journey east across the time zones. He had slept through most of the journey from Newark and now felt oddly refreshed and ready for his next long haul flight to Nairobi, East Africa.

Celia and another dark haired guy got a round of coffees for the group while they waited for their flight and Eric found himself listening intently as they answered questions from various students on the programme.

'We've had an encouraging number of university sponsors this year – about 25 universities are participating in the Nairobi district effort. About half of this number comprises of American universities and roughly the other half are European. So, basically, it's the university consortium that is paying for your services this year by offering fee waivers to those who have worked with the programme. '

Dan, the dark haired young man who looked to be in his late twenties was a British Red Cross employee as well. He chipped in 'As you all know from the information packet we sent out to you a few weeks ago, Nairobi is the Capital city of Kenya. You'll all be spending your first few days at the BRC quarters there. Then a volunteer from each of the towns that we cover off as part of the Kenya effort will come into meet you guys and will take you to your allotted town.'

'This year our relief efforts include a wide range of essential services' said Celia. The entire group were impressed by the amount of passion with which the two BRC members spoke of their NGOs work in Africa. 'We have those aspiring to medical school, assisting qualified BRC doctors with all their medical camps, emergency services, nursing and so on. We have people who will be helping us with the new UN sponsored schools in the district, which is part of a wider UN education programme & we even have some people this year who are going to be helping us with BRC desk jobs all around Kenya working with local NGO's there to fight any kind of human rights abuses.

Most of the young people standing around, all of whom seemed no older than early twenties, were leaning forward to listen. It was one thing to read through all this in the various information packets that had been given to them earlier but Celia and Dan brought the whole thing to vivid life.

'Am I really up for this?' The thought fleetingly passed through all their heads.

Eric hid a small smile as two young girls looking extremely nervous asked Celia if they would still get partial aid for college even if they dropped out from the programme without completing the year. Well, at least he knew that he wouldn't be the only chicken in the group if he ran back to Point Place within a week.

3rd September 1979

British Airways Flight to Nairobi

It was early morning now & Eric figured it was still night in Wisconsin. Donna would probably be fast asleep in her bed right now. She was wearing her pale blue camisole top and checked pyjama bottoms in his mind's eye. He wondered what she might have done with her day. Jackie & Hyde might have gotten back from Chicago sometime during the day and perhaps Donna had been busy celebrating the new engagement. None of them had any doubts when Hyde was preparing to go to Chicago with a ring in his pocket that Jackie would give up her new job and come back to Point Place with a triumphant beam on her face that rivalled the dazzle of the ring on her finger. Eric was pretty sure Jackie and Hyde's happiness would have cheered Donna up considerably on her first day without him.

Had it only been hours since he had last seen Donna …it felt like days already.

He had eaten all of the light breakfast provided to the few who were awake. The 'continental' fare was good enough but he found himself already missing Kitty's hot breakfast….mmm, his mom's bacon.

The information packets on Nairobi and Mombasa were laid open and he was trying to read in the dim glare of the overhead light. At some point, he found himself in a half wakeful state and his mind was lingering only on one thing as it slipped back into sleep …Donna…

_Point Place, 1978_

_8 am_

_Donna was getting dropped off at her Catholic school before the others went to Point Place High & Fez was doing most of the talking that morning on the way to school …_

'_Ai, I can hardly keep my eyes open, I'm sure I'm going to fall asleep during that stupid math test today'_

'_Fez, this is why you shouldn't wait until the night before to study for a test. Eric and I got our math prep done last week. You should have come along to the hub when I asked you to.'_

'_Studying? I was not awake studying, Donna! It was those naughty playboy bunnies who kept me awake most of the night …..I was like a cologne wearing Lion to those bunnies …..' He smirked at the memory._

_Eric bit back a grin at Donna's resigned head shake and eye rolling._

_His mind was on the Math test when they reached her school and he was answering Donna's questions with a distracted air as he walked with her to the gate._

'_Eric, you don't still look at those magazines do you?'_

'_If by 'look at' you mean, scan through quickly once in a while, then yes, yes I do'_

'_But you have a girlfriend to fantasize about, you loser'_

_He wanted to read through their Math notes one last time before the test ….last time he had got a B and Donna had an A+ average in Math….he really wanted an A on this test …_

'_Donna, these are really slutty librarians, nurses and lady cops we're talking about' He didn't notice her eyes narrowing as he gave her a quick kiss and strode back to the car._

_4 pm_

_Donna came sprinting out of her school and got into the Cruiser with a smile on her face. Eric was the only one in the car._

'_Donna, I actually did a lot better on the test than I thought I would …I was like Luke Skywalker when he-'_

_She flung herself at him, half straddling him, her tongue slipping inside his mouth as soon as their lips met and her hands pulling at his hair. His breathing was uneven when she finally pulled away & his eyes were fastened on her mouth._

_She gave a slow smile 'I'm glad you did well on your test, I know how we can celebrate. But we need to be in your bedroom, alone, for what I have in mind.' _

_She couldn't remember when he had ever driven that fast and it felt like only a few minutes before they were pulling into his driveway. He wanted her to come to his room straightaway, but she insisted on going home first. Bob would come searching for her if she didn't turn up at all after school. _

'_I'll come through your window after an early dinner' she promised._

_8 pm_

_Donna walked into the Forman kitchen. She had been there often enough to know that Red was in the living room watching TV right after dinner and Hyde usually disappeared back into the basement the minute he had emptied his plate. Eric stayed behind helping his mom clear things away before running to his room or the basement. That evening, he had barely been getting the grease off plates in his hurry to get upstairs soon._

'_Hello Donna' Kitty said, barely glancing up from making sandwiches with the leftover meat from dinner, for the kids to take to school the next day. All of them hated the food at the school cafeteria, especially that sweet foreign kid._

_Eric's greeting from the kitchen sink where he was clearing away the plates was mumbled. His eyes had widened as he took in the sight of his girlfriend._

_Donna was still wearing her catholic school uniform. She usually couldn't wait to get it off the minute she got back. For some reason, she had looped the tie she had to wear on Mondays, loosely around her neck. The top two or three buttons of her shirt were undone and he could see hints of cleavage as she leaned over the kitchen counter and smiled at him. Her hair was done in two plaits, but there were strands of hair that had escaped from her plaits and were curling around her face and neck. Her lips seemed to be glistening and her skin had a faint sheen to it like she had run really fast over here or something. As she leaned back to sit on the bar stool chair on the other side, he was transfixed by the vast expanse of creamy leg exposed by her skirt. The short skirt that was riding up her thighs as she crossed her legs demurely._

_His mom was saying something but he didn't hear a single word …_

'_Donna' he said, clearing his throat ' Come on , I have those Math notes I took from you last week upstairs, let's go get them …..'_

_If Kitty noticed Donna's unusual appearance and her son's state as he rushed her out of the room, she gave no sign of it, other than a smile and shake of her head as the kitchen emptied of people._

_They were walking up the stairs to his room now, her hips sashaying as she walked. She hadn't even taken off her white socks and buckle shoes yet._

_She turned to him and was almost whispering in his ear as they climbed the stairs._

'_Eric, I'm not wearing any panties under this skirt'_

_She had been teasing him all evening and he couldn't take it anymore. His mouth came down on hers with a biting pressure and his hands roughly swept down from the peaks of her shirt to the valley between her thighs._

_Seconds later they were in his room and he was pushing her down onto the bed, getting on top of her immediately. Usually, he loved the foreplay time as much as she did, watching her reaction to his slow kisses and soft caresses._

_But he was too far gone today, focusing on pushing his pants out of the way while at the same time he was tugging her skirt up. He found her ready and wet, he hadn't been the only one turned on by her actions all evening. Sliding into her with one swift stroke, he swallowed her throaty moan in his mouth. His skin radiated waves of heat that seemed to engulf her as well in the fever running through him. _

_He wanted to slow down, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her but she seemed to be enjoying this furious pace too._

'_Donna, I'm sorry but I don't think I can…..' He couldn't form any more words as she started thrusting upwards, her hips leaving the bed & her head falling back so she could look up at him with half closed eyes._

_They both came in unison within minutes, holding onto each other at the explosion of trembling sensations running through them._

_He stayed inside her for a while even after they were done, enjoying just looking at her she talked with an air of contented sleepiness._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – I see it in your eyes

September 3rd 1979, 11 am

Point Place, Wisconsin

'Oh Donna' Jackie sighed sliding further down into Donna's bed where she was curled up. 'That's beautiful'.

Donna was playing the Styx song for Jackie after showing her Eric's message. She had been trying to take Jackie's mind off Hyde and the events at Chicago.

Jackie had cried for hours the previous day and as the day wore on and there was no sign of Hyde, her emotions became a worrying mix of guilt & anger.

Guilt at calling upon Kelso to keep her company at her room in Chicago and anger that Hyde had left without giving her a chance to try and explain.

'Jackie, Look I totally understand how you felt about Hyde taking time to decide whether to propose or let you go. But in what universe was calling Kelso over a good idea?'

The last thing Donna wanted to do was make Jackie feel worse than she already did, but she shared Jackie's sense of frustration at the moment….two of her best friends had been this close to getting engaged and now…everything seemed liked a confused blur.

She only hoped Hyde didn't do something stupid, wherever he was right now.

' I wasn't thinking , Donna …I was very upset….but I didn't call him over with the plan of sleeping with him or anything …I just wanted a friend and he was right there ….and you know how Michael is, within minutes his clothes were off….he said something about needing a shower …..I was reading something and thinking about Steven …..I don't know what gave Michael the idea that I would sleep with him, or wait, maybe I do….. I don't know….but nothing happened, Donna!….and nothing really would have happened even if Steven hadn't walked in when he did.'

She slumped back in to the pillow and started slowly sobbing again.

'Jackie, Hyde will be back soon. He probably got really drunk yesterday and is sleeping it off today.

You guys will talk things through and everything will be alright'

Jackie didn't give any sign of even having heard Donna.

Donna walked over to the bed and sat down putting one arm around Jackie. The younger girl immediately returned the hug, crying a little on her friend's shoulder.

'Jackie, we'll get through this, I promise. Look, what do you say, while we're waiting for Hyde to come back from where ever he is, we take a trip to the mall and get you a killer outfit to help celebrate when things are back to normal again.

Jackie perked up immediately, wiping away her tears. She had something to do now and Steven would surely be back that day.

Donna knew as she saw her friend walk into the bathroom to change that as much as she wanted to mope around, she had to stay cheerful and cheer Jackie up as well until these two worked things out.

_What's worse…..knowing your boyfriend is halfway across the world and won't be back for a year…a year!...or not even knowing where your boyfriend was at the moment, except that he was out there somewhere angry, hurt and alone…_

She sighed as she went over to the mirror to get ready for the trip to Point Place's Mall.

_Was it only a few years ago that Jackie and she had been plotting and giggling over double dates to the Drive- in….?_

September 3rd 1979, 7pm

BRC quarters, Nairobi

At the very moment that Jackie and Donna entered Point Place Mall around noon, Eric was walking into the dinner hall at the BRC dorms in Nairobi, the bustling capital city of Kenya.

He had slept and read in turns throughout the flight and had felt strangely energised for a few minutes as he finally walked out of the airport at Nairobi, where evening was settling in after another day of tropical sunshine.

The flight to Nairobi had been delayed for a few hours both during take-off and landing. He was tired of being airborne and it felt good just to be walking on land again.

The heat and the humidity had assailed him as soon as he walked out of the semi air conditioned environs of the airport. He had instantly felt thirsty and pulled off the checked shirt he was wearing over his plain short sleeved t-shirt.

Celia and Dan were passing around small bottles of mineral water to the group and herding everyone over to a couple of mini bus taxis waiting outside the airport.

'Everyone into the matatu' said Celia. A couple of the students were talking amongst themselves & looking excitedly about, but most of them walked silently like zombies, a strange mix of jet lag, homesickness and airline food having coaxed the usual exuberance out of them.

The students had looked at all the tourism industry sponsored billboards on their way into the city centre. The colourful adverts had ranged all the way from 'Welcome to The Cradle of Humanity – where mankind was first born' to 'Hollywood's preferred choice' banners containing posters from the 50's of Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner.

Eric had barely noticed his surroundings as he was given the keys to a single occupancy room within the BRC dorms. He was glad he didn't have to share his room the next few nights; any overwhelming feelings of homesickness in the middle of the night were best kept to oneself.

He had taken a shower, changed and left for the dinner hall as Celia had told them that Dinner was at 7pm sharp. He had no recollection later of what he had eaten that night and there was barely any conversation amongst the group, everyone was suffering from varying degrees of jet lag.

One of the BRC workers who was based at the Nairobi office told them on their way out that long distance phone calls could be made from any BRC post during office hours 5 days a week and that once they had started work, the costs would be recovered from the living costs payments that were due to them every month. Any out of hour's calls could be made on an emergency basis.

After reaching his room again, he had stripped off his shirt and jeans and had fallen into the single bed in just his shorts. He was instantly asleep.

The time on the small antiquated clock beside his bed was 6 am when he woke up. Even this early in the morning, the temperature was 28 degree Celsius and he felt a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. Despite the humidity, he felt more refreshed than he had in the last couple of days, and wanting to get his body tuned into the local time as soon as possible, he pulled himself into a sitting position.

His room was bare and small, but it looked clean. He was told they would spend a night or two here, until they each left to their allotted towns. The Nairobi BRC offices would continue to be the central point of contact for the student employees throughout the year.

He opened his suitcase and took out a change of clothes. He also took out a couple of small framed photos , one of this parents on their 25th anniversary and the other of Donna and him at their Prom, and kept both on the small creaky looking bedside table.

He plugged his small cassette player into the dusty looking power socket, with the special converter that he had brought along for using any American appliances locally. He noticed a small rickety overhead fan above the bed and switched it on. The fan creakily started circulating air and instantly the room felt cooler. He noticed a few flying insects near the window & took out the mosquito repellent that his mom had packed so many tubes of & applied it liberally on his hands & neck.

He lay back across the bed with the small notebook Donna had given him in his hand.

As soon as he opened it and saw Donna's neat and stylish handwriting on the first page, to his surprise he felt a strange burning sensation at the back of his eyes, and found he couldn't even focus enough to read. He had been away only for two days and he was already fighting back tears at how much he missed Donna, all his friends, his parents, his Cruiser and most of his star wars stuff, that there hadn't been room to pack for in his one suitcase.

After blinking back the moisture that had gathered in his eyes, he started reading the first few pages of the notebook.

'_Hey, Eric. Guess what? You were right. _

_People shouldn't just write their thoughts down in a 'Captains Log' & keep it secret from their boyfriends. As soon as I started writing this, I realised that there was so much that I hadn't said to you through the years…. I guess that's the problem when you have a great boyfriend who always understands what you're feeling, you kinda get used to not having to explain things all the time. But I should have anyway, at least at a few important times._

_There are so many things I want to tell you about…and now I feel like time's run out on me. Hopefully, it's not too late to be telling you all this._

_Any good writing should have sequence, and that's how I'm going to try and write this as well – by starting at the very beginning._

_When we started dating, it felt like another step in a dance that had begun much before then, like when we were 5 years old. I can't remember a time when you weren't my best friend, the person whose company I preferred above anyone else's._

_Everything about us, right from the beginning, felt natural and meant to be. I can't imagine having had my first time with anyone else, Eric. _

_The first time there was trouble in our little paradise was when I got the job at the radio station. I could see that you were struggling to deal with the new situation. You didn't like my job taking so much priority. _

_You had grown up with a very strong mother who did work but also made it crystal clear that her family was first priority – all you wanted was the same reassurance from me; that my need to work wouldn't make me put us on the back burner._

_I see now, with the hindsight of 3 years, that I should have spoken to you about all this at the time. I should have tried explaining as well why I did some of the things that I was doing back then._

_Eric, those few months before mom left…which were also the few months before you and I broke up because of the Promise Ring….my mom and dad were constantly fighting. _

_Constantly._

_I had really thought that the wedding vow renewals meant that they had worked everything out…but in many ways, it got even worse after that. Mom was very unhappy and constantly coming to me with bitter outbursts, expecting me to understand what she was going through and to 'make sure I didn't make the same mistakes'_

_I saw their whole story unfold before my very eyes. A couple who had married for love, but that love hadn't been enough to keep them together, in the end. She resented giving up her dreams, her talents and her potential all to be his wife, and felt completely taken for granted by him. He, on the other hand, god bless his simple heart, had no clue what her unhappiness was all about and is no closer today to having figured any of that out._

_It took our Break up to make me realise that I had jumped to too many conclusions….just because love wasn't enough for them at the end ….it did not mean that love wasn't enough in itself, for any relationship …..Just because they had fallen out of love so completely, it didn't mean that all couples were destined to end up that way after some years had passed._

_It took me a while to gain confidence in the fact that Bob and Midge were them and you and I …are us…I think I'm much a stronger woman already than Midge ever will be….and you would never take me for granted the way my dad started doing with her…._

_If only I had tried telling you some of all this at the time ….if I had told you that my long hours at the radio station when I first started there, had nothing to do with us, but everything to do with desperately wanting to spend evenings away from home, from the sounds of mom crying and the sight of dad looking resigned and helpless. If only I had told you that the night of the Ted Nugent concert, things had gotten so ugly at home that ….they were done hurling all the ugliest possible insults at each other, and had started hurling plates and cups. When I came over to your place that evening before the concert, I was wondering whether to tell you about it, but when I walked in you were sitting at the table with your parents, and the three of you were laughing over something, Kitty and Red were looking at each other with so much affection …I didn't want to see the horror dawn in your eyes at the ugliness in my family. _

_When I went backstage at the concert, for a while, I could just pretend that I was someone else not Donna Pinciotti, daughter of two people who after 20+ years of marriage could only look at each now with hate in their eyes._

_I know now, that I did the wrong things to handle the situation …..I should have talked to you more about what I was going through….you even came to me a few times asking me to lean on you but I let those moments slip by…..I see now that if I had spoken to you about all this, things between us wouldn't have gotten a bit shaky and that shakiness, I feel, is what led you to not only give me a promise ring but insist that I wear it and acknowledge a commitment to you openly and firmly._

_I should have tried more to explain to you how I felt when you gave me the promise ring. You would have understood if only I had tried communicating, but I chose to blabber something about seeing myself in Paris alone…. seeing my future without you, is the last thing I wanted to do, then and now. Please believe that._

_Jackie for all her immaturity and younger age said it better than me when she told Hyde and Kelso that she 'couldn't think about love when she had something brown on her jeans'. There was something much more horrible than brown dirt happening right then at my house and in my family, Eric. Everything was tainted by it. I couldn't think about love right then._

_All I could think then was that if I made a commitment to you when we were so young, I couldn't handle it if you started treating me the way parents were treating each other….._

_Obviously I didn't try telling you any of this at the time. So, then it all came down to me, I had to work things out myself, in my mind, because I had not used any of the opportunities I had to lean on you and help me work things out. You were gone, suddenly, not my boyfriend anymore, having jumped to the conclusion that I wasn't ready to make a commitment to us rather than the truth that I was scared into immobility by what was happening elsewhere right then._

_I finally started thinking clearly, ironically, after mom left. Not having to see them at each other's throats anymore was such a relief, Eric. I was sad for a while that mom had upped and left, it was heart-breaking in a way. But then I realised that they both seemed happier without each other, they were two nice people, as long as they weren't in the same house. I saw dad whistling to himself one morning when he was working in the backyard and it had been a long time since I had heard that. I found myself being just happy with mom's daily calls where I could hear her happy girlish voice; I didn't really want her to rush back then._

_The fights and screams started becoming a distant memory thankfully and I could hear birds chirping instead outside my window. As I healed that spring, my thoughts constantly turned to you. Things were becoming clearer than they had seemed in a long time._

_I knew that I loved you. You were what I wanted most of all. All the rest of it made sense and had meaning only if you were there as well. The thought of becoming a successful career woman was rewarding only if you were there cheering me on. I wouldn't even admit it to Jackie then, but I knew that motherhood was something I wanted to experience after college and you were the one I wanted to have those kids with. Even if it meant having to work double hard to have both a family and a career. _

_Hey, I had your mom as a good role model. And I knew you and I could make any number of challenges work for us._

_I guess what I'm saying is I simply realised that loving someone is always a risk, there will always be that possibility of one's heart getting broken and one's hopes getting dashed. But I was more than ready to take all those chances to be with you. It didn't matter if you wanted me to commit to forever, or commit only to today…..I wanted to be with you, it was as simple as that. I only hoped that I hadn't left it too late. It had taken me months to work through my feelings about my parents, and all the while, my anger and frustration against them had caused me to punish us and our relationship. Had I ruined things irretrievably with you? Even if I told you everything then and apologised about the Ring, would you have had the patience to want to try again with me. I couldn't blame you if you felt it had been too much drama & you didn't want to get yourself hurt again. _

_I came over to tell you everything one evening and had my heart in my mouth when I opened the door to your basement. But that turned out to be the very evening all our friends were there with you the whole time, it turned out to be the very evening you told me that you thought we should start dating other people. I knew then that I would have to wait to get you back again, but I never doubted that we would find our way back to each other, then or now._

4th September 1979

9 am, Point Place Wisconsin

Kitty looked out the kitchen door and saw Donna and Jackie standing by the Cruiser. She knew they would be coming in soon to ask about calls from Hyde and Eric. She looked at both of them talking and it was hard for her to believe that these two girls had looked so carefree and young just a year ago. Both of them had circles under their eyes when she had seen them the previous day.

She put the kettle on and took some warm brownies out of the oven. It was the only way she could think of right then to comfort them.

'Morning, Mrs. Forman.'

'Has Steven called yet? '

She made them sit at the table with mugs of tea and some pastries before she would tell them anything.

'Honey' she said looking at Jackie first. She knew which of the two was in a worse state right then. 'Steven did call today morning, he's in Vegas. He said not to worry, but that he was very upset about ….about Chicago. And that he didn't want to talk about it. He said he wanted to spend a few weeks there before coming home.'

She looked at the dismay on both girls' faces.

'Did you tell him I was here waiting to speak to him, to explain about that night …?'

' I did, sweetie…..he just needs some time that's all, he'll back in a few weeks and ready to listen then, I'm sure' Kitty didn't know what else to say. Hyde had seemed completely unmoved on the phone when she had told him that Jackie was out of her mind with worry about him.

Jackie couldn't think of anything else to ask about the call and looked down at the table without another word.

'And Donna, honey' Kitty looked at the girl who had gone back to her old red hair just before her son had left. 'Eric called too, very early today morning. He's reached Africa safely, he's doing well. He won't have to start work for a few days & he said to tell you that he's missing you terribly already.'

She saw the redhead blush slightly and smile. She smiled back.

'Honey, I got the feeling he doesn't have enough money with him to make too many long distance calls right now. He said he'd call you today, but that he wouldn't be able to call either of us often until he started getting his living cost payments.

'I don't need him to call me right now, Mrs Forman. I just need to know he's doing okay'.

The girls lingered over their tea, somehow comforted just by being in the Forman kitchen.

On their way back to the Pinciotti's, Donna found herself looking away from the Cruiser. It almost hurt to see the car and not see Eric beside it.

Jackie hadn't spoken at all in a while.

'Jackie, are you okay?'

'I can't believe he's giving up on us without even giving me a chance to explain, Donna. I can't even think about the fact that I might have ruined everything by calling Michael that evening….I'm going crazy not knowing where he is or what he's doing'.

Her lovely eyes were filled with tears again. Donna felt utterly helpless.

Jackie continued after a pause 'Donna, I think I might go and stay with my mom for a while, she's on another one of her trips to Mexico, you know. At least, I won't be here standing by the Forman's driveway for weeks waiting to see Steven walk in. I haven't slept or eaten in days now.'

' Wait, you told me last week, you weren't even sure where your mom was…..how would you…..Jackie, I just thought of something….why don't you and I go to California and stay with my mom instead for a few weeks.'

Jackie turned to face her friend, the thought of actually doing something made her look less wan and ill.

'Really, Donna? You'd do that for me?

Donna smiled. 'I need it too, Jackie. I don't want to go crazy the next few weeks waiting by the phone. I mean, I know Eric, will have, like a million things to worry about there. I just hope he likes the work there. The last thing I want is him worrying about having to call me all the time to make sure I'm doing okay.'

'Besides, I need to think and figure out a few things. Like when I want to start college. And what I want to do with this year while I wait for …..You know. Maybe a trip will help me clear my head a bit.

The girls continued making plans and each was happy to see the other looking excited about the trip as they talked about it more. They decided to wait out the next couple of days just to make sure Hyde really wasn't coming back anytime soon, before taking a long bus journey west.

4th September 1979, 3 pm Local time

Nairobi, Kenya.

All the new arrivals at the BRC office in Nairobi had spent most of the day in small classroom like meeting halls where they had been briefed on various topics. Safety instructions were covered in detail like what to do and whom to call if you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a civil war, a government sponsored violence outbreak, a natural epidemic of some sort, and other events of this nature. Brief history and geography lessons were imparted on Africa in general, but Kenya in particular.

An outline was provided on all major NGO's working in East Africa. It was repeatedly told to the class that listening to information disseminated that day might save their lives at some point of time in the future. A lot of reading material was handed out, and all new joiners were invited to use the library facilities whenever required in the next one year.

Midday, after a light lunch of sandwiches, the class had been split into various small groups, those who were there to teach at the various schools being run on International Aid were taken to a separate conference room.

Folders of printed material was passed out on the governance of the schools, the curriculum followed, and the social challenges faced locally in the day to day running of such schools.

Most of the youngsters felt physically and mentally drained by late afternoon – not only had they been given a surfeit of information to process, most of them were still suffering the effects of the long travel and were struggling to adapt to the humidity, which was apparent despite the creaky air conditioning inside the BRC offices.

Eric felt he was holding up adequately, he had followed Nurse Kitty's advice so far and had kept his fluid intake high. But, he felt strangely numb, like a part of him could still hardly believe that he had taken the impulsive decision to come here, for reasons even he didn't fully understand yet.

Even when they had been broken up, he could remember not being able to go for more than a few days without seeing Donna. Man, she was like the axis of his earth or something. No wonder he felt so out of balance without her.

There was a collective sigh of relief as the class were told that they could have a couple of hours 'siesta' time. They were expected to come back for another small session in the evening just before dinner.

Eric found himself following the same simple routine he had set for himself in his room. He showered, powered on his music as soon he was out, switched on the creaky fan & slathered himself with mosquito repellent.

He had unpacked his star wars themed alarm clock the previous day and he carefully set the alarm for 4.30 pm. He wanted to call Donna before the call facilities closed that evening. He had used his tiny lunch break to call his mom for a few minutes and it had been a strange feeling hearing his mother's voice sounding much softer than usual through the long distance connection.

He glanced at the two photos by his bed as he lay back. The air circulated by the overhead fan was hot but a slight breeze coming in through the windows made it possible to nap. He was instantly asleep again.

1977

Point Place, Wisconsin.

3.30 pm

_She saw the question in his eyes the minute she came out of the school building and walked toward her friends standing by the Cruiser._

_How about tonight?_

_It had been a couple of months since their first time, but now it was like they were both addicted to each other. 'Doing it' had made it even harder to keep their hands off each other, not easier like they had thought it would be._

_She gave a small smile. Did none of their friends notice the way he was looking at her? Or were they all used to it by now._

_They dropped off Fez and Kelso on their way home. Neither would stay at home longer though than was needed to quickly eat a snack and pretend to study a few minutes before finding their way down the street to the Forman basement. Jackie always left school later, after cheer practice. But most days, she just came straight to the Forman house from school and only went home at dinner time._

_They pulled up into the Forman house driveway, with only Hyde seated in the back seat. _

'_So Donna, tell me more about this feminism class your mom's been asking you to join' Even before Eric could complete his sentence, Hyde had disappeared into the house._

_Alone, at last. With a goofy smile Eric leaned forward for a kiss. There wasn't much they could get up to in the driveway that was clearly visible from the house, but it didn't stop them exchanging a few brief but hot kisses before reluctantly pulling back. He laid his forehead on hers for a minute, her eyes were half closed. _

_All the 'rules' sometimes felt unbearable. He couldn't take her to his room in 'broad daylight' for nookie….'treat her like a lady' was his mom's constant refrain followed swiftly by his dad's promise of a foot in his ass if he forgot house rules._

_And Donna wouldn't do date night on weekdays – Fridays or Saturdays only._

_Which left him with the limited options of making out with her in front of all his friends in the basement or hoping she would repeat what she had pulled off surprisingly well already quite a few times, climbing up and down walls & crawling through windows to spend the night with him._

_Then he heard her say the magic words before she ran home 'leave your window open tonight, I'll come over after dinner'._

_He would see her in the basement before that, but they usually kept these kind of plans in whispers between the two of them._

_9 pm_

_He heard the faint sounds of her making her way to his window and pulled her into his arms before she had even stepped in completely. Their mouths fused together with the pent up feelings they had been suppressing all day long._

_He could read every expression on his face, and although she was as affected by the kiss as he was, he noticed her slight wince when his hand on her hip gripped her in a firm squeeze._

'_Donna, you okay?'_

_Donna went over to the bed and lay down. He was instantly there beside her. She lifted her head on to his shoulder and he put an arm around her._

'_Eric, we can't…do it tonight….I'm sorry'…_

_She could see he was confused and about to ask her if she was ill or upset about something that had happened at home ….._

'_No, it's not anything to worry about…..it's just ...' God, why was this still so embarrassing. He was her boyfriend.' It's you know, that time of the month…' She wasn't going to elaborate any further._

_But of course, he knew what she was talking about. His mother was a nurse and his sister never had shied away from letting the whole family know when she was in pain from cramps either._

'_Oh, Donna, is that all, I was worried for a minute that it was something much worse ….' He laid his cheek against her hair. 'You still came climbing through my window…'_

'_Well, I still wanted to be with you. I mean, unless it's weird for you, then I'll just go back '_

'_It's not weird, Donna. …..I can get you something if you're feeling any pain…..'_

'_I'm okay, Eric'_

_They lay there quietly for a few minutes, neither feeling the need to fill the silence. _

_He could feel her breath on his neck, and suddenly he was awkwardly conscious of still being aroused. He had gotten hard from their kiss and for some reason hearing her say she was in a 'delicate condition' didn't seem to have had any effect on his body, which was still clamouring for the action that it had been anticipating all evening._

_She turned so her back was against his front and curled up, so he was spooning her. Another couple of minutes of this and she'd know, he thought. He wondered a little anxiously if she'd be mad at him…_

_Right then, she seemed oblivious to the reactions she was causing. Donna pulled Eric's arm over her bust so she could place a light kiss on his fingers. She pushed back slightly against him, feeling warm and cosy in his arms. _

_When he felt her butt against his erection, he pulled back and pushed himself up by his elbows on the bed. _

'_Uh, Donna, I'm sorry, don't get mad, but I'm still…you wouldn't mind if I went into the bathroom for a while would you?_

_To his astonishment, she looked like she was smiling and not at all angry._

'_And what are you planning to do in the bathroom?'_

_Was she amused by his situation? Now he was starting to feel a bit frustrated. He continued getting up off the bed._

'_Eric, don't go ….stay here, I'll help you'_

_Frustration was replaced swiftly by hot arousal. She was going to help him? _

_Whatever she had in mind, he knew he would be an eager volunteer. Lying back down beside her, he started kissing her with soft and tender kisses on her mouth, by her ears and down to her neck._

_Her hands pressed down across his chest, fingernails scraping gently down his stomach before resting at the waistband of his pajama bottoms. _

_When he started gently stroking her breasts through her clothes and whispering how beautiful she was and how hard it was to get through the day sometimes when all he could think about was being with her like this, it was hard to stop her hands from having a will of their own. They slipped past the elastic waistband and found him fully aroused and pulsing with a need that had become urgent now._

_She focused on varying her strokes, bringing him close to release within minutes and then slowing down again._

'_Donna, please' _

_She increased the pressure and pace of her hand & pressed her face into the crook of his neck. He had meant to move away just before he came, but she wouldn't let him. When she started moving her tongue against his neck all the way to his collarbone, lightly sucking the skin, he lost control and released into her hand._

_After they had cleaned up, he had been contrite that he had gone ahead and taken his pleasure when she couldn't join him, but she quickly put his mind at ease. If anything, she felt very smug at the thought that she could arouse him this much and make him come without even taking off her clothes….._

_They couldn't stop pressing light kisses on each other , holding each other in the tightest of embraces, even as sleep claimed them._


	3. Chapter 3

A/N – I hadn't included any disclaimers when I put up the first 2 chapters, my bad! Here goes – I don't own anything in relation to 'That 70's Show' or the Styx song 'Babe'. I have referenced the lyrics from this song in both chapter titles and elsewhere multiple times in the story.

Oh and also, I am not affiliated in anyway with the British Red Cross or any other Non-Government charity organisation. I have never been to Africa, so though I have tried to research as much as I could while writing this, please excuse any factual errors relating to the above.

Also, starting this story with the date September 2nd is my tribute to my favourite author Ayn Rand. This date is pivotal in her book 'Atlas Shrugged'. As heroic as the men she writes about are, Eric Forman will always be my John Galt!

My inspiration to commence writing this Fic which had been in my head for a while, was reading MistyMountainHop's 'Hyde's long way home' which encouraged me to write an original story on Eric's own journey.

**Chapter 3 – Please believe me**

**September 5****th**** 1979, 10 am **

**BRC offices, Nairobi, Kenya **

They were assembled again into the meeting rooms they had been in the previous day after a familiar breakfast of imported cereal.

Eric was at a table with the rest of the group who were going to be based at the same coastal town as him. One of the guys, a curly haired boy, had introduced himself to Eric the previous night at dinner.

Mathew was a prominent surgeon's son from Louisiana, taking a year out in Africa to help with BRC's medical camps. He hoped the year would help him decide if he really wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a doctor. For him, it was also a good way to get away for a while from his parents and their constant expectations.

'Dude, how hard do you think it's going to be for us to get a local contact here, you know, for when we feel like getting baked?

These were Matt's first words to him.

The other two people at the table, a blond haired young man and a shy looking girl with who was also a blonde, were a lot more restrained. They had hardly spoken but were listening to Matt ramble on about what he had heard about Mombasa from friends who had toured Africa after graduation.

'Hi, I'm Sara' they all turned to see who had spoken to them in what could only be described as a melodious voice.

Sara was a very slim, almost thin, girl of average height with dark brown eyes. Her hair was almost jet black and her skin was a light olive colour. Her accent when she spoke sounded faintly British but had an American twang as well.

'I've been with the BRC in Kenya for more than a year now and I'm here to take you guys down to Mombasa.'

She sat at the table and started giving them an outline of the living arrangements there.

Eric couldn't help noticing that she was an attractive girl. Man, if Kelso and Fez were here right now, they would have been all over her already.

'Are you from here?' asked the shy looking blonde whose name was Cindy.

Sara gave a slight smile. 'I'm sorry but I don't have a simple answer to that question. My mother was British, and she and dad met when she was here on work. She's a photojournalist. I was born in London. Dad lived here his whole life, but he wasn't really a native. His grandparents came over from India, like a 100 years ago, and settled here as part of a growing Indian community who were East India trading Co employees here during the British rule. '

'And I had my entire schooling at a boarding school in Boston because my cousins all went there. So, sometimes I'm American, sometimes I'm British but I'm also Indian and I have an African passport as well. …..Hey, come on, that's gotta be a good ice breaker right? She smiled as they all looked at her.

**September 5****th**** 1979, 11am**

**Point Place, Wisconsin**

Jackie sat on the hood of the Cruiser watching Fez and Kelso bounce a basketball around the driveway.

Donna came walking across from her house. Eric had called her the previous day and reassured her that his first few days there were going smoothly. The rest of the conversation had been mostly about Jackie and Hyde.

'Donna, I'm so sorry. When I left, I thought those two would be all sunshine and joy at their new engagement, and cheering you up. I had no idea all this was going to happen. I hope Hyde comes back soon and they work things out.'

'Eric, come on, none of this was your fault. Oh wait a minute; if only you'd taken Kelso with you, none of this would have happened. Damn you, Forman.'

They could make each other laugh even on a long distance call.

Donna sat down next to Jackie.

'Jackie, I've spoken to my mom about us taking the bus there tomorrow. She's happy for us to spend as long as we like over there, she says they're expecting a nice fall this year, so we should be able to hang by the beach. I also called up the bus station to find out about buses tomorrow night'

Kelso butted in 'You gals really want to take a bus rather than have me drive you there?'

Donna replied quickly 'Yes! The last thing we need right now is Hyde coming back to find out that you and Jackie both came with me to California. Together.'

'Fine, we probably don't have the time right now anyway to come with you guys, right Fez?

Fez had got a job offer at an upscale hair salon in Chicago. He had been interviewed a few weeks ago when he had been there visiting Kelso, who was now officially a cop.

'Yes, we need to find a new apartment before I start work in a couple of weeks' time'

They were planning to share a bachelor pad, somewhere not too far from where Brooke and Betsy lived.

'Guys' said Jackie sounding a bit chirpier than she had the past couple of days. 'We promise once things are sorted out between Steven and me, we'll all come to visit you guys and hang out in Chicago'

Kelso and Donna exchanged a quick glance but neither said anything. It seemed very unlikely right now that Hyde would come back home ready to forgive and forget everything immediately and want to hang out in Chicago at Kelso's pad.

'We'll still be down here most weekends, Jackie' He promised. No matter what, he would never stop being there for Jackie, as a friend.

**September 6****th****, 1979. 7 am **

**Highway from Nairobi to East Coast, Kenya**

Eric was in the back seat of the car with Cindy and Matt.

Chris, the guy with the blond hair who seemed as shy as Cindy, was seated next to Sara who was behind the wheel of the small car that was taking them to Mombasa. The drive would take 5 hours and they had left very early in the morning.

They hadn't been able to leave the previous day. Sara had needed to stock up on things for them to use when they were on the Coast. She had taken Cindy with her on the shopping trip.

Eric had joined Matt and Chris on their walks around Nairobi city centre to pass the evening, but the humidity had them back in their rooms before long.

Eric looked out of the window and wished Donna could have seen this view. The sun was still rising and the morning air was relatively cool. There was dense foliage on both sides of the tar road and every kind of exotic flower in full bloom.

A sudden image of Donna walking amidst those flowers, dressed in scanty summer attire filled his head and took his breath away. She looked so juicy even in the vision…

**September 6****th**** 1979, 9pm**

**Wisconsin**

Donna looked out the window as the bus continued its smooth pace en route to the West. The temperature inside the bus was warm enough, but it was a chilly night outside. She looked up at the moon and the stars and felt a strange peace steal over her.

Ever since graduating High school, she had constantly felt on edge about something. First there had been her and Eric's shared disappointment at putting off Madison for a while, and then the aimlessness that had set in the months after that. They had set the wedding date at a time when both of them had hoped that setting the date would snap them out of the malaise that seemed to have crept into their lives at Point Place, they had expected that marriage, if nothing, would mean moving forward and growing up. The wedding being called off had been anticlimactic at the end. And then almost a year of again, 'just hanging out'.

If someone had told her when she was in her senior year, that she would be turning 20 in a few months without yet having started college, she would have scoffed at the very suggestion.

Maybe Eric had been right. His decision to work in schools in Africa for a year to be able to afford college and the teaching career that he had set his heart on was progress. It was a new beginning.

She looked at Jackie who was fast asleep, her head almost falling onto Donna's shoulder. For the next few weeks, she decided she would make sure the two of them had a pleasant trip. The future could wait until they were back in Wisconsin.

**1977**

**Point Place, Wisconsin**

_Donna was over at the Forman house in Eric's room. They were supposed to be studying, preparing for a report that was due in, the next day at school._

_Usually being each other's study partners worked very well for both of them. They were both intelligent, had good memories and loved challenging each other mentally. Sometimes, it would turn into good natured competitiveness and sometimes it was just them helping each other with their weak spots. Eric was really good at subjects like History and Donna was the better of the two in Math. _

_But that particular day, it was proving really hard to stay the course._

_They had already taken three' study breaks'. Each time they had agreed after that it was time to concentrate on the report. Only to grab each other again after a few minutes. She couldn't remember when they had been this unable to keep their hands off each other. What was wrong with her today? She wondered. All he had to do was turn and look at her and she felt herself getting turned on again._

_After the third time, she tried keeping her eyes fixed on their books and not looking at him at all. But then it was the sound of his voice that was turning her on unbearably. He seemed to be fighting hard to control his urges as well this time._

_It just took a couple of minutes for them to give in again, and she was lying on the bed, her legs slightly apart, with the weight of his body pressing her down. They were kissing like they had been starved without each other for months._

'_Don't get up' he said and proceeded to kiss his way down her body, removing her outer clothes as he went along. He stopped when he reached the juncture between her thighs, veiled by the silky burgundy panties that she was wearing. He started gently using his lips and tongue over the fabric; he could feel her warmth beneath the thin silk._

_This is where she always stopped him when he wanted oral action, asking him to come back up and inside her. She had said it made her feel too exposed lying back with her legs apart while he kissed her there. _

_So he was ready for her softly uttered 'Eric' and tugging of his hair with her fingers to pull him up._

'_Donna, I think I know a way that you could enjoy this without feeling shy or embarrassed.' She had never actually admitted to feeling that way and as usual he was spot on with knowing how she felt without her having to say it._

_He was pulling her off the bed and toward the closet, and she went along without any resistance._

_The second they were inside the closet, it was like being in another dimension in many ways. It was pitch dark inside the closet. She couldn't see him and she knew he couldn't see her, the only sounds were the sounds of their rapid breathing._

_She could feel him kissing his way down again, his hands on her hips. Within a few seconds, his mouth had reached its goal, kissing and licking her where she was already wet and aching for him. _

_He was on his knees, grasping her thighs, his position allowing easy and comfortable access to deepen his kisses. She didn't know if it was the complete darkness, the slightly claustrophobic feeling of being inside the confined space, or just her crazy need for him that day that suddenly made her drop any inhibitions that still remained._

_She parted her legs, and he hooked one knee over his shoulder. Making soft sounds that urged him on; she arched her back, and sunk her fingers in to his hair._

_When his kissing and licking gave way to a deeper and rhythmic sucking, she came, her fingers holding his head tightly against her._

_He wanted to linger there for a while, enjoy gently caressing her as her breathing evened again. But he was literally in agony from holding back this long; he couldn't wait anymore to be inside her. _

_Getting on to his feet, his hands automatically going to her breasts, he tried slinging one of her legs around his hips to be able to enter her. _

_But she pushed him slightly away. He thought she was going to leave when she turned, but she turned not toward the door of the closet but the wall, bracing her hands against it and looking over her shoulder at him expectantly._

_Ohmigod. They had never done it in this position before, though he had thought about it a few times. He had wanted to wait until she was comfortable with the idea. _

_He leaned forward, holding her hips for support, & with one smooth stroke he entered her._

_It felt different, like he was much deeper inside her. After checking her expression to make sure she wasn't feeling any discomfort, he started sliding in and out of her, leaning forward so he could touch her breasts again, pulling slightly at the nipples that had hardened into small pebbles._

_When she turned her head, and looked into his eyes, her aqua eyes shining with all the emotions she was feeling, he couldn't hold back anymore, and went hurtling over the edge, taking her along with him._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – Thanks again to those reading & reviewing this story. I hope you continue to enjoy it. Apologies for the shortness of this chapter, but I wanted to get what was completed up by today. Chapter 5, which I have already started on, will be much longer!**

**Chapter 4 – My heart is in your hands**

**September 13****th**** 1979**

**Santa Monica, California**

Donna shaded her eyes against the afternoon sun as she looked out at the water. She was seated on a sun bed, in a sarong and halter neck tank top.

Jackie was wading in knee deep water in a fuchsia coloured swimsuit. She looked a million miles away.

Donna had called Mrs Forman twice in the past few days to check if Hyde was back yet. He wasn't.

'Come back and give her a chance to explain, you idiot' Donna sent a mental message to Hyde.

It had taken them a couple of days to make it across the country to California by bus. They had spent the last 3 or 4 days mostly at the beach.

They walked, swam, talked and dozed in the sun.

In the evenings, when Midge was back from work, she would take the girls out to enjoy a bit of the nightlife. Although both girls appreciated the change of scene as being good for them, they knew they were only going through the motions of having a great time.

They each were fighting their own demons.

Jackie was living with the constant thought that she had potentially wrecked her relationship with the guy who was in all probability the love of her life. And the fact that Hyde had come with a ring in his pocket to Chicago only made her cry more now for what might have been. Every day that went by without reconciliation made it less likely that they would get through this with no lasting scars.

Donna, on the other hand, thought she was closer now to understanding Eric's thinking when he took the impulsive Africa decision. She knew how much it meant to him to be a good provider. He needed to work on that goal before he took on being a husband and father.

_But she missed him terribly._

And the fact that he had taken the decision without talking to her about it first still hurt a little …some days, more than a little.

She watched as Jackie walked back up the beach and sank into the sunbed next to her. When had the whiney schoolgirl who had walked into the basement with Kelso, grown into such a striking young woman? Donna wondered. Both Kelso and Hyde were fools.

Well, at least they hadn't suddenly decided to up and leave America ….or ever left Jackie standing at the altar for that matter….

Jackie interrupted her train of thought and she was actually quite grateful for that.

'Want some sun cream, Donna?'

Jackie slathered herself generously with the cream and lay back closing her eyes against the sun.

They were both in a quiet mood that day.

The previous evening they had been walking by the beach, on their way back home, when suddenly Donna had asked,

'_Jackie, do you think you maybe, still have some feelings for Kelso?'_

The minutes had felt like hours as Donna had waited for an answer.

_Jackie Burkhart stuck for words?_

She had almost thought perhaps Jackie wouldn't answer and she was going to say something else, when she got her reply,

'_I love Steven, Donna.'_

Donna had nodded. They could talk more about it when Jackie was ready, she had decided.

They had almost reached home when Donna spoke up again. Jackie could barely hear her, the statement was almost whispered.

'_I'm still so mad at him, Jackie'_

Jackie had taken only a few seconds to reply. Her voice had been kind.

'_You're not mad at him, Donna. You just wish you were. And the fact that you're not mad at all scares the hell out of you…'_

It was getting a bit cooler on the beach as evening approached. Jackie was dozing.

Donna decided to let her nap a short while before they headed back home. She took out some papers from her tote bag. She still hadn't read most of the stuff Eric had written for her before he left.

_Donna, I know you're still upset with me about this decision. I can see it in your eyes even as you help me pack and kiss me back every time I pull you to me._

_I'll try and explain myself more as I write this. But first, I need to talk to you about the one thing that still keeps me awake at night, the one thing that if only I could somehow take back and do differently, I would. I'm talking about the way I left before our wedding …_

_Remember how excited we were when we first set the date for the wedding. We had both been so disappointed about not being able to leave for Madison after Dad's heart attack. I loved that you stayed back for me, but guilt started nagging away at me when I saw you going to classes at the local junior college. I had to make it all up to you and soon. _

_Setting the date at the time made everything seem back on track again. I was thrilled about the thought of us going to Madison shortly after our wedding; introducing you to everyone we met on campus, as my wife._

_But as the weeks flew by, I was starting to realise how far apart reality and day dreams were. It was becoming more and more clear that Dad and Mom were digging into their savings & that Dad wasn't going to be able to go back to a job again. He had started talking about starting a new business of some kind and I knew it would take money. I didn't want to face this Issue, right then, I think. _

_I was trying to pretend like everything was alright and hoping that the money for college would somehow magically appear when I asked for it._

_But I think somehow you picked up on what was happening in the Forman household without me even having to say anything. Wasn't that why overnight, you abandoned your college plans? Because you knew I wouldn't be going anytime soon, even before I had worked that out ….._

_I saw you convince yourself that your job at the radio station was your dream job. You stopped talking about those writing courses that you had always wanted to take at University, telling yourself that you didn't really want that anymore._

_But worse was still to come. Even if we had forgotten about college – only because I didn't have the funds for my admission, I still had no concrete plans for our life in Point Place or elsewhere. When we visited the Trailer park house, it was like the walls of the place crashed down on my head and I was suddenly thinking clearly._

_Not only had you at first put off college for me, you were now going to forsake it semi permanently. And not only were you forsaking it for me, but all I was offering you in return was life in a rough neighbourhood within a small town that you had grown up hating._

_I wished then that I had at least taken up one of those bank jobs on offer at our senior year job fair. I wished I had something more on hand right then that what I did, which was nothing._

_Donna, I wasn't intending to not show up when I drove into a bar at a town whose name I don't even remember. I was going to get a few drinks for courage and come back to talk things over with you. _

_But the more I sat there, the more I knew what the right answer was. I needed to have more to offer you before I got down on one knee. _

_I was sure I had gone about things backward. And that there was only one way left now to set things right. _

_I was surprised at how sure I was that you would understand, that you wouldn't break up with me over the wedding being called off._

_But I know I should have come back immediately and not stayed away for 2 days._

_Please believe me when I say this, but there was only one thought left in my mind after I had decided about the wedding. How could I make this less painful for you? _

_It might have been the cheap beer that muddled my thinking right then, but it seemed obvious to me then that if I stayed away, all the anger our parents had at the 'irresponsibleness' of calling off a wedding the day before, would be directed solely at me._

_I had already lived all my life with Red's less than stellar opinion of my decision making skills. I didn't want you to come into the family with a cloud over your head as well. Staying away meant that everyone would only remember me as the one who ran away, and not the two of us as being indecisive._

_I'm sorry Donna, I think I'll probably be apologising to you about this when we're like 80 ….God, I hope our grandkids won't be calling me a dumbass because I left you standing alone at the church that day._

_I'll make it up to you Donna, I promise…_

There was more but she was crying too much to be able to continue reading. Thank god, Jackie was still asleep.

She quickly wiped the tears that had started coming down the minute she had started reading.

By the time Jackie awoke, she was ready with a smile on her face. There was a spring in her step as they walked back that day and she found Jackie's opinions on her lumberjack wardrobe funnier than usual.

**1978 **

**Point Place, Wisconsin**

_It was exactly a month since they had come back from California. Eric was finally through with being grounded by Red. He could drive his Cruiser again. The ban on going out in the evenings and weekends was, at last, over as well._

_It was Wednesday though; he figured he would have to wait till Friday to take Donna out for an evening alone, since her school night curfew was part of her 'punishment' for running away to California, along with having to go to Catholic school._

_They were on the couch in the basement, just the two of them, watching TV. _

_The others were just out in the driveway, shooting some hoops. They would be back in a few minutes, before 'Charlie's Angels' started._

_Suddenly, Donna said 'Eric, let's go out tonight for a drive right after dinner'_

'_What? What about your curfew thing?'_

'_It's okay. I'll make something up. It can't be that hard to convince Dad that I left my books at Jackie's house or something like that ….I'll tell him you're driving me there'_

'_Okay' He had a goofy grin on his face. He definitely seemed happy to go along with this impromptu plan. _

_She smiled. ' I just felt like doing ….some stuff'_

'_What kinda stuff does Milady have in mind' He was leaning into her now, still with the goofy smile on his face._

_So, he wanted to know right now, did he? Fine, as long as he could handle it, she thought. _

'_Well, I won't tell you exactly what I have in mind right now, but it goes something like this…..'_

_She lifted his hand and brought it to her mouth. Without breaking eye contact, she slipped the pad of his middle finger between her lips and licked it._

_Her lips curved upward a little at his sharp intake of breath. The grin had completely disappeared. He looked almost mesmerised as she slipped his finger a little further into her mouth, sucking slowly and deliberately on it._

_The air between them seemed to crackle. _

_He could feel himself start to tremble in anticipation; he was so turned on not just by what she was doing, but also by the look on her face while she was doing it. _

_He didn't think he could have pulled away or even looked away, even if his parents had walked in right then._

_When she slid his finger slowly out, until only the tip was between her lips and then sucked it in again, he looked almost as if he were in pain._

'_Donna' His voice was so low; it was heavy with arousal. The sound of it sent shivers through her; she felt an ache start in the pit of her stomach._

'_It's time to watch Fez's Angels!' It was the others coming down the stairs to the basement with Fez leading the pack._

_Donna reacted instantly. Dropping Eric's hand back onto his lap, she leaned back against his other arm which was slung over the back of the couch. She focussed her attention on the TV. _

_She could feel the tension in her boyfriend's lanky frame as he literally fought to calm himself before the others walked in. His right hand had moved up to the arm of the sofa and was tightly gripping it._

_As an afterthought, she quickly leaned forward again and picked up a comic from the turntable, dropping it casually on his lap. _

_Then just as the others walked in, with Kelso talking about another UFO sighting, she whispered into Eric's ear, 'You taste so good ….'_

_She felt his hand squeeze a painful warning at her shoulder._

'_Charlie's Angels' was on now. Jackie was on Hyde's lap and was probably the only one who had picked up on the sexual tension in the air when they had come in. Her eyes connected with Donna's for a second, she gave the tiniest hint of a knowing smile. _

_The brunette then turned her attention to the TV without a word and Donna was grateful that she hadn't taken the opportunity to burn her or Eric._

_She knew she had come close to blue balling her man. But she hadn't meant to, she had been driving herself crazy thinking about 'stuff' the whole day. _

_There were things she hadn't been ready for yet before their break up. She knew she was ready now. Just thinking about it had built up her anticipation through the day and she had wanted to share some of that with him._

_She would make it up to him tonight …._

_She started counting the minutes before dinner would be over and she knew he would be counting too…._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – You know it's you, Babe**

**September 19****th**** 1979, 7pm**

**Santa Monica, California**

The beach was full of people that night. There was a bright moon in the sky accompanied by plenty of twinkling stars.

Jackie, Donna & Midge were seated in the outdoor dining section of the Cabana Hut Café & Bar. There was a palpable vibrancy in the air and the girls were enjoying the balmy evening.

They were due to leave in a couple of days and they knew that a cold autumn awaited them back in Wisconsin.

Midge was talking about something funny that had happened at the ad agency where she worked when suddenly both she and Donna heard Jackie's audible gasp.

'Jackie, what's wrong' Donna turned to see what it was that Jackie was staring at in shock.

'Ohmigod!' Donna's voice held surprise, relief & happiness.

The young man standing by the far corner of the bar, in jeans and a zeppelin tee shirt had his piercing blue eyes fixed on the brunette at their table.

'Steven!' Jackie was on her feet and almost running in her haste to reach him.

He covered the last few yards separating them with quick strides and lifted her up in his arms as she reached him. Donna could see them through the crowd, kissing each other with all the desperation that both had been feeling those past weeks.

'Well, thank god we didn't have to wait a year to see them have a happy ending as well' she said to her mom who was looking at her rather than at Jackie and Hyde.

They saw Hyde raise a hand in acknowledgement at them before he led Jackie away from the crowd. The two started a slow walk toward the ocean, already appearing deep in conversation.

The tempo of the music changed and the couples on the wooden dance floor of the Bar switched to a slow waltz as the strains of 10CC's 'I'm Not in Love' started up.

Memories of prom night instantly took over and Donna stared off into the distance for a few minutes, not taking in a single word of what Midge was saying to her.

_His hands sliding up her hips covered in blue silk. Her fingers caressing past the collar of his shirt to tangle in his hair. _

_His eyes moving from her lips back to her eyes again and again, the same question flashing in them each time._

'Donna' Her mother's gentle voice pulled her reluctantly out of her reverie.

'Sweetie, have you got an appointment with the Dean at UW for next week?'

This wasn't the first time they had gone over this conversation in the past week.

Her original acceptance at Madison had been well over a year ago, almost 2 years now in fact.

When she had asked for a stay to join a couple of semesters later due to 'family Issues', the admissions team had been empathetic and because of her stellar academic grades and impressive interview, they had easily given her the time she had asked for to come on board.

But as the semesters rolled by, could they be blamed if they doubted her commitment to a college degree? It was now or never.

Midge had been trying to convince her to meet the Dean about starting classes from the New Year.

'I haven't, mom…. I just can't imagine going to Madison without Eric, it was, like, our dream to go there together….we had everything packed and ready to go at one point ….' Her voice faded away as she realised she was rambling.

She sighed as the lyrics of the song continuing to play in the background weaved its way into their conversation.

'_Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me…Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me …..'_

'Ok ay then, why don't you and I go down to USC tomorrow, have a look at the campus and check out their Journalism department? '

'Honey' Midge continued as Donna did not reply

Don't put off college anymore….You won't be able to forgive yourself for it if you do and you'll end up blaming Eric for a decision you took '

Donna felt like putting her head into her hands when the new Styx song started playing next…..how could she feel so torn about what should be a simple enough decision ….

Her mother finally got her to agree that there was no harm in checking out USC the next day.

Midge was determined to see her daughter not put off college for yet another year. USC had something else going for it as well, she would be able to see Donna often again …

**September 20****th**** 1979, 7 am**

**KENYA, East Africa**

At the exact same time that Donna was lying in bed awake, in the middle of the night, mulling over the discussion with Midge earlier that evening about USC, the sun was completing its ascent into the sky in Coastal East Africa.

It was a beautiful morning and Eric was thinking about Donna as he walked the distance from his residence to the town square where the primary school was located.

It was a couple of weeks since he had started work, and he found teaching both challenging but fulfilling.

The children that he taught were mostly between the ages seven and nine, but because they had started school much later, they were taught the syllabus of Grade 1.

Classes were only in the mornings and he had the afternoons off, which he usually used to prepare for the next day. There were two other teachers who taught at the small school, one with slightly older kids and the other one managed a kindergarten age group.

He had been a bit surprised to find that the all the youngsters who had driven down together from Nairobi were to share the same house, although it was a sprawling bungalow type residence with 5 bedrooms.

But he had gotten used to it over the past couple of weeks , and had admitted to himself, it was nice to have company in the dark evenings where there wasn't much to do but tune into the available English channels on the TV.

The others had started work as well – Matt and Cindy went into the local medical practice to assist whoever was the visiting doctor that week. Chris had a job with the local council offices . Sara had a local administrative job but her main duties were as the BRC rep for that area.

She appeared to do most of the cooking for all of them as well.

On his second or third day at the school, Eric had met Chris and Sara walking back to the house from the town square in the late afternoon and joined them.

He had talked a little about his day with the children and then had remarked on the fact that there were many more boys in his class than girls.

Sara had replied 'Well, there is still the problem of parents preferring not to educate their daughters and the NGO's have been fighting this discrimination for ages now. Of course, there is the even more serious problem of female infanticide that still occurs in villages here. Young female babies are killed as the parents only want male offspring'

She could see the boys were shocked by what she had said, and had quickly moved onto more cheerful topics.

Eric found the kids that he was teaching bright and eager to learn, the work was not hard , and every day the thought that he was a step closer to funding college made it easier to bear being away from home.

_But he missed Donna terribly and constantly….._

He found that it was easier to get quickly through the day and his mind was focused on the kids when he was at school. But the nights were difficult…

He knew she would be back in Point Place in a day or two; her two week holiday at California was almost over.

Images of her running to him in a beach in California were still lingering in his mind as he entered the school that morning.

**1 pm**

He had just started the 15 minute walk back to the house when Sara's car pulled up beside him.

'Hop in; I'm headed back to the house too' Sara sounded her usual chirpy self.

She chatted for a few minutes about her morning at the local council, preparing and presenting paperwork on an obscure law that activist organisations had been trying to change for years now.

Eric was looking out the window – there was a powerful river visible beneath the bridge that they crossed every day.

'So Eric, I hear you have a girlfriend back home, and that the two of you are high school sweethearts…..I love a good love story, tell me more about her ?

Her tone was inviting rather than intrusive – and he didn't need much prompting to talk about Donna anyway.

It was amazing how much he managed to sum up in 10 minutes – that he had known Donna was the one since they were kids, how they had turned from friends to more at age 17, their engagement, her staying home from college because he had to stay back, their almost wedding …

'Idiot' Sara looked horrified and turned away from him for a few minutes as they got out of the car and into the house.

Great, he thought, here was someone who had worked in Africa for a couple of years now, and could talk about shocking human rights violations calmly, and even she was shocked that he hadn't shown up at his wedding.

Sara went straight to the kitchen to prepare a meal. She varied the menu each day, sometimes sticking to familiar dishes like sandwiches or a chicken casserole. But sometimes she used the fresh local ingredients to make recipes that were popular in East Africa.

She put some potatoes to boil along with rice in the steamer.

'Eric, she sounds amazing. And you say she's really into feminism? I think I'm falling in love with her too'

She was about to start chopping up some onions and tomatoes for the vegetable stew, when Eric took the knife and cutting board from her to help.

She started kneading flour for chapattis, which was a favourite bread locally though originally an Indian recipe.

'So, how come you decided to spend another year out here? '

She was slow to answer his question ….

'Well, I never really got to know my dad when I was growing up - all my holidays home from boarding school were spent with my mom and her family in London…..he invited me here a few times, when I was in High school …..but I always put it off, thinking there was time later ….and then one day mom called to tell me that he had died…..he was barely 50…'

'That's when I regretted missing all the chances to spend more time with him …so I came here , met his family …..took the initial year's assignment with BRC so I could spend longer out here and still work toward college …'

'He was born here in East Africa and lived his whole life here …..But his parents migrated from India…so I visited India too last summer to get better in touch with my roots …..Spent time at the town where my grandparents are from, and where I still have cousins and loads of family.

'It's been an amazing couple of years discovering this new side to my family tree ….very different and yet just as wonderful ' She always seemed to end conversations on an upbeat note no matter how serious the topic.

But he had heard the regret and guilt in her voice when she had talked about not coming over sooner to spend time with her dad …..How had he thought that with his issue of insufficient funds for college, he was the only almost 20 year old with big problems?

**10 pm**

Eric was lying in bed listening to music. He had just come to his room a short while ago, after his usual couple of hours in the shared living room in front of the one TV.

He had tried making his room as homey as possible; the framed photos of his parents and the one with him and Donna on Prom Night were on the table by his bed.

Also, on the bedside table was the notebook from Donna with her letters to him.

He moved into a sitting position at the knock on his door. Matt walked in closing the door behind him.

Eric smiled when he wordlessly started smoking up, 'Where did you manage to get that from?'

'Don't even ask, Dude…..just enjoy'

He couldn't help thinking about Hyde and the other guys as he inhaled…..it felt like ages now since their last Circle …..His mom had told him just a couple of days ago that Hyde was not yet back at Point Place and he knew the other two had moved to their new apartment in Chicago earlier that week.

The basement would be dark and empty right now …..

Matt broke the comfortable silence. 'Man, I don't know what's the deal with that Cindy chick….she seems to enjoy talking to you and Sara in the evenings, but she avoids me like the plague at the clinic during the day…..'

'Maybe it's because you're ….I don't know …weird?' Eric smiled.

Eric and Matt had formed an easy friendship; they shared time in front of the TV every evening. Usually, Sara and Cindy found their way over to around the TV set as well in the evenings, although the other guy Chris preferred to read in his room or go for solitary walks.

'Well, what with the two female roomies being ice queens, chances of me getting lucky soon are next to nil' Matt reclined on the single chair in the room which he had pulled up next to the bed.

'Sara seems nice enough' Eric ventured.

'Come on Dude, the only reason she's warmed up to you is she knows you're safe, you have a fiancée back home. I have it on good authority that Sara is completely frigid and will freeze off any guy who tries getting too close.'

'Hmm, good authority or personal experience?'

Matt explained then that he knew a guy who had been down here last year and was his golden source of all reliable information on Africa.

He then cheered up as he recollected his 'source' telling him that the visiting nurses who came down during the monthly medical camps were really 'friendly'…

**September 22nd 1979, 8 am**

**California**

Donna kissed her mom again and got into the back seat of the El Camino. Jackie was seated next to Hyde in the front.

'Bye again, California' She thought as they drove away.

Midge waved at the departing car and watched it fade out of sight. Her daughter, all grown up now, had looked simply gorgeous that morning. She had lost some weight since Eric's leaving and the slight gauntness had added a luminescence to her face.

She had been dressed in a red halter top and jeans and with her hair back to its usual rust colour; she had looked nothing less than striking.

As she walked back to her apartment, Midge thought about the look on Donna's face the previous day as they walked around the USC campus.

Thousands of people her age walking around with books in their hands – some serious, some devil-may-care, all of them enjoying being ensconced inside university life for the time being.

It had looked like a haven ….and Midge knew that only one thing was found wanting by her daughter, the love of her life wouldn't be there with her.

There must be some way to convince Donna to move ahead with college …..

Donna looked out the window and discreetly pretended not to see Hyde reach out and press Jackie's hand for a few seconds.

She had spoken to both Hyde and Jackie separately the previous day, wanting to know if everything was alright now.

Hyde had admitted to Jackie that he had felt so let down on seeing her with Kelso in Chicago that he had gone straight to Vegas where he had gotten drunk for two days straight. He had also truthfully owned up to sleeping with a stripper while he was drunk. He had then met this stripper a few times over the next couple of days before finally sobering up.

He had realised he was still in love with Jackie.

Jackie could see where her actions had led to Hyde running away to Vegas – but she was deeply disappointed that yet again, Hyde had slept with someone else out of anger.

Both of them seemed determined to make things work again but neither was willing to subject themselves or each other to so much hurt ever again.

No more Ultimatums, Jackie had agreed …..Actually she didn't want to rush into marriage right now either.

Never ever again would he turn to another girl to deal with a fight, Hyde had promised. And he meant it. He had gotten no real joy out of his time with either the nurse or the stripper ….and he hated himself for seeing the light go out in Jackie's eyes each time he did something like that.

Hyde still didn't know how he felt about seeing Jackie and Kelso hang out together again.

And they had agreed that he would support Jackie taking up a job or college even if it was far away from Wisconsin – they would make long distance work for them for the time being if they needed to.

As the miles sped by and Zeppelin continued crooning inside the car , the thought of Point Place, home and Mrs Forman's ' welcome back' hot meal cheered them up…..Donna kept her window open and enjoyed the feeling of the wind rustling through her hair.

_**1978 **_

_**Point Place, Wisconsin**_

_He had gone over with a casserole because Kitty had made him go. He hadn't been inside Donna's house since their breakup a couple of months ago. It still felt too raw, it still hurt …._

_He had been completely taken by surprise when she had started kissing him and unbuttoning his shirt by the kitchen table._

_Seconds later, she was pulling him upstairs and into her bedroom._

_As she walked up the stairs, still pulling him behind her, she acknowledged to herself that she desperately needed him. It had started hours ago when she had woken up that morning and found her mom gone …. All she had wanted to do was run across to the house next door and wrap her arms around her ex-boyfriend and bury her face deep into his shoulder._

_She wouldn't let this complicate things again – it would be just sex, a physical act for mutual pleasure and comfort._

_As she drew him down onto her bed and started kissing him again, he was torn between wanting to be tender and comforting and letting himself be overwhelmed by the physical excitement running through him right then._

_They had never been in her bed like this in broad daylight before – even when they had been together._

_He tried slowing things down by pressing soft kisses against her jaw, but she turned her head and bit his lower lip and then sucked it in between her lips, stroking it with her tongue. She took the hand he had placed on her hip, to gently caress her, and moved it between her thighs._

_He had meant to whisper comforting words to her, tell her she wasn't alone and that he would never stop being there for her – but her actions completely took over his senses. All he could think about was getting inside her and how it would feel to be there again._

_He tried again to show her with his body how much he cherished her, but after the first gentle thrust inside her, she whispered in his ear that she didn't want him to be gentle. _

_It was hard to know how much of those last few minutes was raw lust and how much was the desperation at not being together the past few months. He pressed a hard kiss against her lips as they both came together. _

_He felt himself pulsing inside her, and knew that he wouldn't have been able to stop even if she had said she wasn't on the pill anymore._

_They were still catching their breath when she turned toward him again, with soft kisses and caresses. He was on top of her again in seconds._

_This time she didn't fight it, she allowed him to set the pace – enjoying his tender kisses and whispers in her ear._

_She felt herself get wet again at the feel of his body pressing her down on the mattress. _

_But that wasn't nearly as surprising as the urge she suddenly felt to tell him that she loved him, that she always would….._

_She bit her lip to stop the words as he gently pressed into her again. _

_He was kissing her neck and in her hair, keeping his thrusts deliciously slow and gentle._

_To her dismay, not being able to say what she wanted to say so badly was upsetting her so much that two fat tears rolled down her cheeks, followed swiftly by more. She was crying silently._

_He noticed, of course he did, and started murmuring words of comfort in her ear ….about how her mother would surely be back soon …thank god, he hadn't realised why she was really crying._

_She thanked the fates for letting her have her best friend with her right now and responded to his hips moving against her by arching up against him._

_Her only coherent thought as her body took over again ….would she ever be able to survive being without him?_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – A big Hi to those of you still reading this fic! I meant to put in an A/N at the start of chapter 5 but forgot to at the last moment. I am really sorry about the long 3 week delay between chapters 4 and 5 , and the subsequent 1 week time taken to put this chapter up.**

**It certainly doesn't mean I lost interest in the story, I was travelling a few weeks back and unfortunately caught a pretty nasty cold, it has been a rainy summer in northern UK ! **

**I promise to update frequently, it took me only a day to write this entire chapter and I have started already on chapter 7 – will try to get that up by mid-week.**

**I can see from my chapter stats that a number of you are indeed still reading this, please do drop a short review if possible to let me know what's going well and what isn't and any other ideas you may have. Thank you!**

**Chapter 6 – I'll need your love to see me through**

**Thursday, September 27th 1979, **

**Early evening**

**Point Place, Wisconsin**

Fall had already set in. The evenings could be quite chilly, but Donna was lightly dressed in a long sleeved tee shirt and jeans as she walked the few minutes from her house to the Forman house basement.

It was a week since they had got back from California.

She walked in to find the basement empty. Hyde would be home from Grooves anytime now, and she felt like she needed some company that evening.

Jackie was, believe it or not, up in Madison for a couple of days checking out the university and thinking about trying to enrol. She was fairly sure she wanted to go to college now, but couldn't bear to be too far away from Hyde either, and UW offered the option of being near enough to Point Place that she could see her boyfriend every weekend.

Hyde had already said he would drive her back and forth every single weekend if she decided she wanted to study there.

Kelso and Fez had called earlier in the week to confirm they were coming for home for the weekend; apparently they had various hysterical stories to share of the wild times they were having with the Chicago babes.

It would be the first time Hyde and Kelso spent time together since the incident in Chicago with Jackie – so the girls were hoping there were no fireworks of the dangerous kind.

Hopefully, the boys had been friends too long to let anything like this come between them.

Everyone seemed to be coming and going, Donna thought ruefully. She was the only one who seemed stuck in the past or at least it felt that way sometimes.

She still put in a few hours most midday's at the radio station – but her heart wasn't in it anymore, continuing work as a radio jockey in Point Place had only ever seemed like the perfect option at the time last year because it had allowed her to work locally and be with Eric…..

The door opened and Hyde walked in ….followed by a tall guy with longish wavy hair …

Hyde pulled out beers for himself and his new acquaintance before assuming his usual position by the couch.

'Donna, meet Randy – I've hired him to help out at Grooves'

Light conversation followed. Donna switched on the TV, and was able to continue with her earlier thoughts while appearing to be engrossed watching television.

She could feel the 'new guy' 's gaze on her, he was trying not to be too obvious about it but he was checking her out in a thorough manner.

Even if she had been single, she doubted she would have been interested – he didn't seem her type. Although, not that she knew what exactly her type was – geeky skinny Star War addicts who knew how to make a girl's toes curl with their kisses?

Although despite the fact that Randy's attention did not spark any butterflies, she could feel herself sitting up a little straighter purely on reflex. How long had it been now since anyone had paid the least bit of attention to her down here in the basement?

Even Mr and Mrs Forman seemed to have less to say to her as the weeks passed by– it felt like they wanted her to keep coming over but they didn't quite know how to fill the silence either when she came over to the kitchen for a chat.

'Your mom still calling everyday to see if you've decided about USC, Donna?' Hyde wanted to know.

'Yeah …..I told her yesterday that I still wanted to think about it for a couple of weeks more'

Hyde grunted in response. The entire gang knew that USC was now under consideration by Donna and they were all hoping that she picked UW instead so they still got to see her often.

Donna still hadn't told Eric about her visit to USC though ….it wasn't very likely she would decide to apply there anyway, she reasoned.

'Donna, Hyde told me you're a DJ at WFPP and that you love Zeppelin too….you might enjoy coming by to hear my band perform this week …we got a gig in Kenosha on Sunday…..'

It was so obvious that he was attracted and while she didn't feel any part of her mind or body respond to that attraction ….she couldn't deny that it felt nice to be noticed …..He didn't seem overtly creepy or anything …..There couldn't be any harm in hanging out as friends.

I'm in if the others come along as well ….Our other friends from Chicago are only here until Sunday night ….'

**Sunday, September 30****th**** 1979,**

**7 pm,**

**Kenosha, Wisconsin**

Jackie and Hyde were on the dance floor. The band were playing quite a lot of slow numbers that evening in keeping with the ambience of that particular bar, and Donna actually found it relaxing watching her two friends sway in each other's arms while leaning back and taking in the pleasant music.

Fez had downed a few beers and was now trying his best to persuade a petite brunette, who didn't look unalike Jackie, to dance with him. She looked like she might give in and agree If he kept at it a while longer.

Kelso was showing his adorable but rare serious side, seated beside her, regaling her with photos and stories of his toddler, Betsy.

He seemed to love being able to spend more time with his daughter now in Chicago.

Donna idly wondered if she ever would have believed it a couple of years ago had someone told her that Kelso would be the first of the gang to become a doting parent.

The band took a break and pre-recorded songs took over for a while so the couples on the floor didn't have to stop.

Donna smiled at Randy as he came over and sat next to her.

'Do you like the music, Donna? 'He seemed to only have eyes for her right then.

Donna rolled her eyes as Kelso interjected 'hey Buddy, you know who else she really likes, her boyfriend Eric'.

He was nice, she acknowledged, as Randy politely asked Kelso more about his new life in Chicago.

If he wanted to spend time with her as a friend, she wouldn't object she decided, as long as he understood that she was not looking for anything more.

All the others seemed busy lately; even Jackie was preoccupied with deciding what she wanted to do next and had determined not to dawdle over the decision for too long.

'So Donna, you want to dance? This is a lovely song…..'

'Maybe later' she smiled back 'But thanks for asking.'

**October 1st, 1979, 7.30 am**

**Kenya, East Africa**

_Eric groaned as Donna straddled his thighs taking the entire length of him inside her. He lay back letting the waves of pleasure wash over him, as she moved back and forth, her breasts swaying as she rocked._

_He cupped her neck and pulled her down for a deep kiss, as she continued undulating on top of him. _

_Her nipples brushed against his chest, the sensation so pleasurable for both of them that husky cries filled the room as he grasped her hips and helped deepen the thrusts that were taking both of them to the edge._

_She raised her head from kissing his neck, and looked down at with him a seductive smile. His eyes fastened on her curving lips; her smile was so sexy that it was going to send him over the edge any moment now._

Eric woke with a groan. He was lying on his stomach, with his throbbing arousal pressed against the firm mattress. The sound of the insistent alarm had cut into what surely would have ended as a very satisfying wet dream.

He gave another groan of pain as he lifted his hand and shut the alarm off.

His body was angrily protesting Donna's absence right now.

Damn. He missed her so much …..

It was too late to try and make a run for the bathroom to use the shower; he couldn't risk any of the other inmates of the house seeing him in this condition.

The boys shared the use of the main bathroom and the girls had cordoned off the smaller bathroom set at the back of the house for their private use.

But he had overslept and everybody would be up and about right now.

He gave up resisting. His body was clamouring for release. He lay back on his stomach and let his mind dwell blissfully on images of Donna's endless creamy legs wrapped around him….

'Eric' There was a knock at his door.

He stifled a curse and hoped whoever it was would just go away. They all respected each other's space and this was the first time someone had knocked on his door in the morning. Great timing.

'Eric' It was Sara's voice and it sounded quite hesitant. 'I'm driving into Kilifi today and I wanted to offer you a ride to the school. It's raining really heavily outside, it won't be easy for you to walk '

She couldn't hear a response, maybe he was sleeping in today.

She turned to walk away when she heard his voice, sounding unusually hoarse,

'It's okay… I'll walk over to the school ….later'

'Okay bye' She beat a hasty retreat.

**6 pm**

Eric had reached home only a couple of hours ago. He had managed to reach the school that morning only slightly late. But he had struggled to walk the distance in the rain as the accompanying heavy wind had made it difficult to hold his umbrella in place.

He had stayed back a few hours in the afternoon after the kids had left, preparing questions for a set of tests he was planning for them later that week.

It might be just first grade curriculum that he was teaching but he took his work very seriously.

It was relaxing sitting there alone in the school, with probably just a few people pottering around in the ancient school courtyard and building after hours.

He had sat at a table in the tiny teacher's room, by the window, with his papers before him, appreciating the light rain still falling.

The rains had made everything look greener and more alive.

It was a welcome change after the heat that had prevailed the past few days, he had thought as he had strolled back home that evening.

At home, Cindy had informed him that the rest of them had escaped the heavy rain that morning, having taken up Sara's offer to get dropped off at work.

No one was in the kitchen after work that day. He had the space to himself. Opening one of the shelves, he took out a bag of dried pasta shells and a bottle of homemade Italian pasta sauce.

Both were from the Pinciotti house, and Donna had not only given him loads of the stuff to take along but had also taught him a few simple recipes to put together a tasty pasta dish.

He made plenty of it, knowing that whoever came in later that evening would be grateful for the hot meal to enjoy after a day of cool rains.

He was seated comfortably in front of the TV later, when Sara walked in and went straight to her room looking a bit bedraggled from her day.

Chris was locked in his room as usual and Eric had no idea where the two medical assistants right then.

Sara came over to the couch later, dressed for bed in baggy pajamas, her hair pulled back into a severe bun.

She had a bowl of pasta in her hand , that she proceeded to dig into after settling herself down comfortably.

'Thanks for doing dinner today, Eric….it's been a rough day'

'Hey, you're welcome…..and thanks for the offer to drive me to work today….I …I overslept …..'

Sara had wondered if he was suffering from a cold that morning as his voice had sounded like his throat was sore or something….but he sounded fine now…Her knock must have just woken him from a deep sleep and he had answered groggily …..

'You're welcome too' She grinned teasingly 'Sorry to disturb your early morning dreams about your girlfriend…..'

Sara had next to no experience with the opposite gender. But she knew enough to regret her words as soon as they were out of her mouth.

She had only meant to joke, but knew that indeed he had been 'dreaming' about Donna, his girlfriend, when she saw his reaction to her words.

He blushed slightly and muttered something in response before fixing his gaze on the TV.

He had never had a girl almost walk in on him before , well except Donna herself….and he didn't feel up to joking about it…..

Sara quickly started talking about her day in the nearby coastal town of Kilifi, where she had spent hours trying to file some BRC paperwork at a local bureaucracy.

'So, where's Cindy' she asked a few minutes later. It seemed odd that her friend would have left the house this late in the evening when it was still raining.

'No idea and Matt's been MIA as well for the past couple of hours… I hope they haven't killed each other' Eric joked as he picked up one of his comics from a table nearby.

'Why would you worry that they might kill each other?' Sara smiled.

'I don't know ….Matt was going on about how they didn't seem to be getting on or something like that a week ago'

'Eric …..You must be quite blind….or your mind must be somewhere else all the time …..' She was still smiling before going on,

'It's so obvious that they're crazy about each other…the only question is whether they know that yet …'

Wow, thought Eric, he really must be walking around with his head in the clouds, but could anyone really blame him?

His heart was halfway across the world, in the hands of a saucy sultry redhead….

**October 3****rd**** 1979, 5pm**

**Coastal East Africa**

Eric and Sara walked back to the car which was parked outside the local council offices of the town of Malindi.

They had received news a week ago that one of the local retired expats had offered to teach at the BRC run primary school. They had been tasked with informing all the nearby towns that the local school now had an extra class available for new enrolments.

The two of them had covered all the towns on their list that afternoon, Malindi had been the last.

Eric had enjoyed the drive – most of the towns were Coastal and a view of the Beach had been constantly available through the morning.

A light rain was starting again as they got into the car, but to their joint dismay the car appeared to refuse to start.

After some feeble attempts to identify the problem, they decided the best course of action was to leave the car here and try and get back home somehow. Sara would have to call in to get the car fixed the next day morning.

A few minutes later, they were trying to get to the nearest bus station in the pouring rain, the single umbrella keeping neither of them dry, when a car pulled up beside them.

It was locals from their suburb, the married couple in the front with his ancient parents seated in the back.

They spoke cheerfully to Sara in Swahili and seemed to understand her broken responses explaining the current predicament with Sara's car.

Sara and Eric were offered a lift home in the small family car…but there was only room for one more person in the backseat….

The family smiled and opened the door, unable to understand why Sara continued to hesitate…..why was this young lady looking so uncomfortable, surely European girls weren't too shy to perch on their boyfriend's lap for a short drive back home?

'Come on Sara' said Eric, feeling equally uncomfortable about the impending seating arrangement but determined not to risk the two of them falling ill from standing around in the rain. 'This is no time to be a prude'.

He slid in, thanking the elderly couple who moved over to afford him as much space as they could possibly spare.

He looked at her expectantly, not wanting the kind locals to wait forever while Sara made up her mind.

She climbed in rather clumsily not wanting to make a scene and perched herself as lightly as she could on his knees rather than on his thighs …..pressing herself into the back of the driver's seat.

Eric had to hide a small smile as she continued to maintain the ridiculous position; she wasn't so much sitting on his lap as she was hanging off the front seat….he would have felt awkward at having a girl on his knees had it not been for the fact that she was obviously so much more discomfited than he was right then…..

The muted conversation in the car was a backdrop for the soft bluesy music playing …..The rain had been almost cold outside but it was warm inside the car. Sara relaxed after a few minutes; it looked like they would make it home uneventfully now.

And then they were rudely reminded that they were indeed driving down a narrow road in Africa and not speeding down a freeway in America when the guy driving had to turn sharply to avoid a herd of skinny goats that came out of nowhere…..

Sara lost her precarious hold on the front seat and was thrown back fully onto Eric's lap. Her thighs slid against his and her behind was now pressing firmly down onto his hips.

Everyone was thrown sideways when the car continued to swerve to avoid the goats that had taken over the narrow road.

Sara was in danger of falling onto the ancient little old lady seated next to Eric and on reflex, Eric gripped her hips to hold her in place.

Her hair was in his face for a few seconds before she managed to pull her shoulders forward. She found that there was no way to scramble forward back to her old position, well not without making things a lot more awkward as a lot of twisting and turning would be involved.

He was a friend not a stranger, and he was right, she must stop acting like a prude. She froze into the position.

Eric found that Donna was never far from his mind even when there was an attractive girl pressing firmly down on his lap and that helped him stay relaxed about the situation right then.

But he had to admit that only a dead man could stay completely untouched ….how did this skinny looking girl suddenly appear to have a million curves right then all bumping and moving against him as the car took a series of turns….

A few minutes later, they weren't too far from home, but they entered a rough stretch of terrain, the road only partially tarred ….and to his complete horror, he felt his body respond automatically to the feel of her rocking against his length.

For the second time that week, he found himself stifling an expletive in Sara's presence.

A virgin she still might be, but she would have to be an idiot not to feel him getting hard beneath her thighs. For one split second, her mind registered the fact that she didn't feel the usual feeling of repulsion rising inside her, before she leaned forward and spoke to the couple in front.

They pulled over.

'Eric, come on, we're just a 10 minute walk from home through that lane now ….and its barely raining anymore….let's get down'

The family in the car chirpily waved as they drove off. Both the youngsters started the walk back at a brisk pace, neither could wait to get home and disappear into their own rooms.

**Thursday, October 4****th**** 1979, 7 am**

**Kenya**

Eric stopped over at the local long distance calling telephone stall on his way to the school. Informing the guy manning the counter inside the tiny shop that he wished to make a call to America, he slid into one of the glass booths that offered a thin semblance of privacy to the callers.

He had decided not to make a big deal in his mind about what had happened the previous day, resulting in loads of wasted guilt. He had much rather focus his energy on doing his work at the school well and completing his time quickly here to get the college funding.

It had helped that Sara had been her usual self today morning and had chatted away at the kitchen table with him and Cindy.

He still had woken up twice last night, wishing Donna were there with him ….he needed to hear her voice, speak to her and hear her soft laugh …

His heart skipped a beat as he heard the phone ringing at the other end; he would hear her voice any second now.

Instead it was Bob who spoke to him, his booming voice loud and clear even on the bad line.

Donna wasn't home yet; she had said she would be back by midnight, which gave less than an hour more before she was due back.

Eric expected to hear she was over at Jackie's or something, and was surprised to hear that she was out with a new friend, the guy who worked at Grooves with Hyde now.

Bob wasn't sure, but he thought Hyde and Jackie were with them as well.

Bob could almost feel Eric's anxiety for Donna's safety through the long distance line. He was almost inclined to reassure him that it was obvious Donna had set clear boundaries with the guy before hanging out with him. He steeled his usual kind heart though, the boy better learn to stick around if he wanted to protect his territory.

Eric reassured himself though as he walked to the school that morning, he was sure Donna would never hang around with someone who was trying to make a pass at her. Besides, Hyde was there with her and would make sure she was okay.

He would call her again on Saturday, and meanwhile he would try not to worry about her hanging out with some guy at Point Place.

**A/N – Sorry, this chapter doesn't have the usual smutty end flashback, it was already 10 pages long and I wanted to get chapter 6 up today. I promise an extra-long and hot smutty flashback in chapter 7 !**


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